The Panama Canal Division was a unit of the United States Army, established in order to ensure the United States could adequately defend the Canal Zone in Panama. When it was authorized in 1920, similar divisions were organized to defend Hawaii and the Philippines.
History The Panama Canal Division was organized in 1921, and was active until 1932.Wilson, John B. (1997). Maneuver and Firepower: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades. Washington, DC: Center of Military History.army.mil US Army Order of Battle 1919-1940 page 288 Its initial composition included the 19th Infantry Brigade commanding the (14th and 65th Infantry Regiments, of which the 65th was stationed in Puerto Rico) and the 20th Infantry Brigade commanding the (33rd and 42nd Infantry Regiments). The 19th and 20th Infantry Brigades were the Regular Army elements of the World War I 10th Infantry Division that had been a part of the National Army and was demobilized in 1919. The two brigades appear to have been active until 1927.McGrath, 'The Brigade,' page 166
The commander of the Panama Canal Department, Major General Preston Brown, later determined that the defense of Panama would be better served by command groups representing the Atlantic and the Pacific. In 1932, the Army inactivated the division, keeping its Tables of Organization on file should the need arise to reactivate it. It never has.
Commanding generals Panama Canal Division BG Edwin B. Babbitt: July 3, 1921 – October 10, 1921 MG Samuel D. Sturgis Jr.: October 10, 1921 – April 17, 1923 MG Edwin B. Babbitt: April 17, 1923 – September 15, 1923 MG William Lassiter: October 1923 – September 19, 1924 BG Fox Conner: September 19, 1924 – January 1925 MG Charles H. Martin: January 23, 1925 – October 10, 1926 MG William S. Graves: December 13, 1926 – October 1, 1927 MG Malin Craig: October 13, 1927 – March 31, 1928 MG George LeRoy Irwin: April 1, 1928 – December 21, 1930 BG Charles DuVal Roberts: December 21, 1930 – April 3, 1931 BG Harold B. Fiske: April 3, 1931 – April 15, 1932
Panama Mobile Force MG Ben Lear: February 16, 1940 – September 20, 1940 MG Walter E. Prosser: September 21, 1940 – March 1942 MG Robert H. Lewis: March 1942 – December 21, 1942 MG Harry C. Ingles: December 22, 1942 - February 1943 BG Jesse C. Drain: February 1943 - April 2, 1943 MG Edwin F. Harding: March 26, 1943 – August 19, 1944 MG Philip E. Gallagher: September 3, 1944 – April 1, 1945 BG Thomas J. Camp
See also Divisions of the United States Army List of former United States military installations in Panama
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